My client had a valve replacement approx one year ago. Recently he has had constant heartburn,burping, hiccups and indigestion.. Sometimes leaving him short of breath. He takes Zantac daily and tums as needed but lately nothing seems to help. It's especially bad after meals. He has occasional constipation but generally we can get those moving with MOM. I feel we have tried EVERYTHING and I'm asking if anyone has any answers for us. His surgery has left him unable to walk, of course, he is 94. Heart Drs. say everything looks ok there but I'm worried about possible blockages in the stomach/esophogus.
..we have GOT to get this figured out asap
Zantac may not be the best medication for him. There has been some bad news about proton pumps recently, but I know when you have a problem, you do need some help. Ask his doctor about some of the other medications. There may be one that works better.
Some foods are bad to cause indigestion. Heavy meats can be particularly bad for some people. It sounds like his esophageal sphincter is not closing well. It may help to encourage him not to lie on his right side, though I'm not really sure if this is myth or fact. It may help to take sips of liquids, e.g. ginger ale, to try to keep the sphincter closed better.
Hope you can find some relief for him. My ex had GERD and my father had an inflamed digestive system, so I know digestive upsets are no fun.
Works every time
My Mom use to give my Dad regular milk, ice cream, cottage cheese, regular cheese, yogurt, and anything else with dairy and that created quite a mess for Dad. Once we got Dad on Lactose-free LACTAID® that helped the problem. There is Lactaid milk that taste like regular milk [I also use it] and Lactaid ice cream which is pretty good. Once can now find yogurt that is lactose-free.
Another issue could be gluten [wheat] products. Dad switched over to Chex cereal and that also helped him. But we couldn't get him to give up his bread for toast and sandwiches, so we had him limit the amount.
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